How to Say Goodbye
by AwkwardScenario813
Summary: Demyx has known her his whole life. they grew up together. then she moved and everything changed. years later, he sees her again. but each time after that, she is a little different. then, he stumbles onto something he shouldn't, and possibly looses her because of it. after she leaves, will they meet again? can Demyx keep his promises?


Demyx

I ran outside with my little red shovel and green and blue fish pail.  
"Don't run too fast, Demyx- you might fall!" my mother warned from the kitchen.  
"Okay, mom!" I said, looking back for a split second, then proceeding to run to my sandbox, which contained the girl from next door, who happened to be my friend.  
"Okay, Naminé- now, do you want to play with the shovel and pail, or the dump truck?" I asked. I only got the shovel and pail because I wanted a turn with the dump truck. Then she looked up at me with all her five-year-old innocence packed into her deep, blue eyes.  
"Can I play with both?" she asked.  
"Umm... I guess," I said. I handed her both the shovel and the pail- I didn't want to hurt her feelings.  
"I'm done with this right now- I'm gonna make a castle!" she said brightly, shoving the dump truck towards me. Her shoulder-length blonde hair fluttered in the wind as she smiled. I grinned back, feeling two strands of my hair drift along my cheeks. I had my hair styled in a faux hawk style- all the hair on my crown spiked up, and anything below that laying flat. I had three little bangs on my forehead, and two running the length of my face. I started digging in the sand- I wondered what mysterious lost toys of mine were still in here. I was six, and the world was a playground. I found something in the sand- it was a plastic Superman ring. Naminé was my best friend- in fact, my only one at the time. We had known each other since we were babies- our moms knew each other from high school. Kids often picked on me and said I had 'Cooties' because I would always play with Naminé instead of other boys. I liked typical boy things- bugs like beetles, worms, and grasshoppers. But since I've known Naminé, I found out she did like bugs, just different kinds I've come to like, too- butterflies, ladybugs, and crickets. We would go out for fireflies every night it was warm.  
"Hey, Naminé- look at this!" I said holding up the ring. She looked at it with awed interest.  
"That's so neat!" she said.  
"Here," I said, grabbing her wrist and put the ring on her third finger- the same one my mom had hers on. "Come on," I said, pulling her along- she had to hold down her flower crown (she was teaching me to weave those) and we ran into my house. Thanks to my spiky do my crown had stayed in place- white flowers that only bloomed in spring.  
"Mom, look!" I said, holding Naminé's hand out to her to show the ring.  
"Oh, that's pretty, Naminé. Where did you find it?" my mom asked.  
"She didn't find it," I objected. "I gave it to her- someday, I'm going to marry her, and we are gonna have it at the church where you and Dad got married, and invite everybody- even that mean kid Seifer!" Seifer was a bully at school.  
"Well, are you now?" my mom said, smiling and giggling to herself. I nodded.  
"Yeah! She's my best friend, and I want her here with me forever!"  
"Well, you do that, then," my mom said, going back to cleaning the plates from our lunch.  
"Come on- let's go sit in the treehouse! I wanna play checkers!" I said.  
"Okay- can we play smash checkers, chunk checkers, or nice checkers?" she asked.  
"Let's do smash!"  
"Okay!" she agreed, and we ran to the ladder next to the sandbox. The treehouse was a room decorated and furnished with beanbags, blankets, and little tables and chairs, as well as a play kitchen where we would smush worms into pudding for the twig dolls or tear up leaves for salads. The twig dolls were old stuffed animals with open mouths that my mom had made for the purpose of getting dirty. We played smash checkers- it was like checkers, but when we would get bored after like, four moves we would stomp on the board. I went to the balcony of the treehouse and leaned on the railing next to the telescope.  
"Naminé?" I asked. She joined me.  
"Yeah, Demyx?" she asked.  
"Do you think we can get married?"  
"I think so- but we have to be your mom's age first, I think."  
"Then we have a long time to wait. That's good- I wanna learn how to look at you the same way my dad sees my mom," I said. He would come back someday. He had to- how else would he eat dinner? I looked over at Naminé. She was twisting her finger into her hand. She looked at me.  
"How does your dad see your mom?"  
"I don't know... Like she's special, and he knows it. You're special, and I know it- I just don't know how to make that face that says so."  
"Someday, I want a magic carpet to fly us to the clouds and we can live there and you can be king of the twig-doll people," she said, smiling.  
"You can be queen, if you want."  
"I can be queen... But I have to be a princess, first, then you gotta save me from a dragon. Then, we can go live in your cloud castle and have all the cookies and ice cream you want- there won't be a mom in the world to stop us if they can't reach the clouds!"  
"You're right... Let's do it! We have a little carpet in front of our door- maybe it can fly!"  
"Well, I don't wanna go, yet. I have to pack some of my toys and say bye to my mom and dad," she said.  
"Maybe later, then. I will save you someday, and then I'll get married, then we can be king and queen. Right now, let's just play pirates," I said, grabbing my wooden sword, paper captain's hat, and toy parrot. Naminé grabbed her eyepatch and paper pirate hat, along with her wooden sword. Then we set up the plank and tied up the twig dolls.  
"Tell us where the treasure is, Twig Pete!" I demanded, sword to Pete's neck.  
"Yeah! Well make ya walk that plank if ya don't!" Naminé threatened, flipping her eyepatch to just above her eyebrow- she never kept it over her eye that long. And that's how our days went until one day in third grade when we were on the treehouse balcony three or four years later.  
We were there, like we had been years earlier, eating seasalt ice cream in the hot summer, her hair down to her waist, now and mine still the same. She was in a white dress again- she was always wearing one.  
"Demyx, what would you do if I left?" she asked, then put the end of the popsicle in her mouth again.  
"I guess I'd wait for you to come back."  
"What if I didn't?"  
"Then I'd go look for you."  
"What if you found out I was going to leave forever?"  
"I'd keep you here, in the treehouse and stop them from taking you."  
"What if you couldn't?"  
"Then I'd go with you."  
"What if you couldn't?"  
"I'd hold my breath until you came back."  
"What if you breathed?"  
"Then I'd blow up."  
"Hmm..." she said, eating her ice cream again.  
"Say, Naminé- why're ya asking me all these questions?" I asked.  
"My mom is making us move- my daddy got a better job, so we have to leave." I remembered my dad. He left for work and got shot on the job. That's why he never came back. Eventually I got over it and coped.  
"So are you coming back?" I asked. She looked at me sadly and I started feeling this bad feeling in my stomach. "You're gonna come back, right?" I asked, more frantic. "Right?" She just slowly started to shake her head.  
"No," I whispered, bewildered. "No... You can't... Don't you remember? Those things we wanted to do?"  
"I remember, but Demyx- I don't think we can fly away from this. I wish I could, but I can't. I'm sorry," she said. Then, we heard her mom calling from next door.  
"Bye, Naminé. I'll see you tomorrow, right? You know, to say goodbye?" I asked.  
"No, Demyx. You won't be seeing me again after this. I'm leaving today."  
"Naminé..." She started getting all teary eyed, then ran to me and threw her arms around my neck.  
"I... I'm sorry, D-Demyx! I don't want to go!"  
"N-Naminé," I said. I realized I had better make the best of this- it will be the last time I see her. I felt her face pressed against my neck, her tears running down under my green shirt. I wrapped my arms around her, closed my eyes, and turned my face into her hair, feeling it tickle my nose. She pulled back and my hand trailed to her elbow, and cupped around it. My other hand was holding my ice cream. Her hand held on to my upper arm, and she looked at me with tears still in her eyes.  
"I'll miss you, Demyx." Then, she blushed and looked down, and peeked at me through the bits of hair that covered parts of her face.  
"Naminé?" I asked. She was acting weird. She looked back up at me and then leaned forward so fast it took a second to figure out what was going on. Her lips were pressed to mine for all of two or three seconds, and I dropped my popsicle. Once I had realized she was kissing me, she was gone, I watched her walk to the opening in the floor that went to the ladder. She turned around and said something, but I didn't hear her. Her voice seemed to take ages to reach me.  
"Bye, Demyx..." I realized that's what she said, and I ran to the treehouse's opening- the same one she had gone through a few minutes ago. I climbed down the ladder and ran to her house. I tripped and fell while I climbed through the fence, watching as she got into her mom's car. I reached out to her, but she couldn't see me.  
"Naminé!" I shouted, my mouth moving but no sound reached my ears- like a bad dream where you're yelling, but nobody hears you. Where you're racing against time, but you're too slow to go anywhere. The car started driving away, and I scrambled to my feet and ran after it, my hand still extended. Then, they were so far down the dirt road I could hardly see them, and I was only just past their house. It had taken me so long to spring into action, I thought. Then, they went over that last hill, and I couldn't see them anymore. I fell to my knees, not caring that my knees were going to be cut up and bruised, not caring that I was a boy and I felt like crying. All I knew was the only friend I had ever had was just gone. I got up after several minutes that felt like hours and walked dejectedly to my treehouse. I climbed back up, looking at the little room Naminé and I had played in, the numerous toys we still had, and the beanbags where we would sometimes fall asleep together. I looked at my ice cream, which had melted, now and left the stick and a big blue stain under the little pile of still-melting slush. She had kissed me goodbye... She had hugged me, and even said it... And I never got a chance to. I looked around, suddenly getting mad- I started tearing the multi-colored blankets off the walls onto the floor, throwing all the treasures off the shelves, tossing the play plates and other dishes from the cabinets, flipped the tables, kicked the chairs, and then I dumped our discoveries out of the little box on the end of our little couch. I saw a picture of me holding a slug up to Naminé, who was screaming with her arms curled up in front of her. I held this tightly and sat heavily in one of the beanbag chairs. I sat there for a while, numb all over. Then the loss hit me again. I started to cry, not knowing what else to do. Yelling from the ground, chasing, and even a rampage hadn't worked. I eventually cried myself asleep. My mom had no idea where I was, and had called for me until after sunset. Then, she looked for me for half an hour before finding me in the mess of the treehouse, a picture clamped in my hand. She carried me to bed and took the picture and put it on my nightstand.  
Eventually, when I was in sixth grade, we moved. I kept that little picture of Namine close at all times. I wasn't popular there. I had taken up an instrument and had become antisocial. I wouldn't talk to anybody unless spoken to. Eventually as high school rolled around, we moved again. I was a sophomore, popular for my skills, and I started socializing more. Then, a new girl came to my class. She skipped in, white backpack, white sundress, light purple sandals, blonde hair, and blue eyes. I never paid much attention to her. If anything, I would try to avoid her- she reminded me of Naminé and it hurt. One day, my friends from the basketball team had left early to go see a game my mom wouldn't sign the permission slip for. So I was alone at my table. I was looking down, eating the grainy mashed potatoes and poking at the questionable school meatloaf, when I heard a soft clank of a tray across the table. I looked up, and there was that girl I had never bothered to catch a name for.  
"Hi," I said. I wished she would go away- her deep, blue eyes were just too much like Naminé's were.  
"Hi," she said. "You know, I'm surprised you're not more talkative. You are always saying something."  
"That's probably because there's not anybody to talk to right now," I said, poking at the pudding, seeing if it was as rubbery as it looked.  
"You could talk to me. I'm surprised you don't remember me," she said.  
"Oh, I DEFINETLY remember you- from class," I said, slightly irritated. She looked sort of hurt, but she reached into her dress and pulled out something on a chain. It was a little plastic Superman ring. I did a double take- it couldn't be! She... She looked so different- her hips had gotten wider, her hair was to just below her shoulders- her face wasn't so round. She had... Also... Filled out very nicely, if I must admit.  
"Naminé?" I asked. I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought I'd never see her again.  
"Long time, no see, huh, Demyx?"  
"Y-yeah... You look great," I said. Then regretted it- it might've sounded perverted.  
"Thanks. You still look a lot like the old Demyx I used to know- your hair is what helped me recognize you. It looks the same as it did in kindergarten."  
"Heh... Thanks," I said. "Why are you a sophomore? I thought you were behind me a year?"  
"I got skipped ahead. I went to a private school for a while. I hated the little uniforms so my mom put me here," she said.  
"Really," I said, sounding interested. Uniforms? I wished I could've seen that. I had only been able to imaging Naminé in white sundresses, because that's always what she wore. The thought of her wearing something other than white was something I wanted to see.  
"Aren't you going to say it?" she asked.  
"Say what?" I was confused.  
"Apologize, you goof!" she said teasingly.  
"Why?"  
"Because you breathed!"  
"Oh... I'm sorry, Naminé. I tried to stop you, but you got away, so I couldn't. So what happened since you left?"  
"Parents got divorced... I hate her new boyfriend. They're going to get married in a month." She made a face. "He's so... Creepy."  
"How is he creepy?"  
"His name is Xigbar, and he has this eyepatch and scars everywhere. He was in a war of some kind. His ponytail is black and gray, and he looks like a pirate."  
"He sounds kind of neat... But that does sound really creepy, too- why would your mom date him?"  
"He was there for her after the divorce. I think it's a mistake," she said, sipping some of the juice she had gotten from the line.  
"Naminé... Remember when you left?"  
"Sort of. You just stood there with this blank look, so I left."  
"You also kissed me..."  
"Yeah? And?"  
"I remembered it took forever for me to realize it, and then I noticed I sort of liked it except for the fact I wouldn't see you again," I said.  
"I had the biggest crush on you... I'm surprised you never noticed," she said.  
"I remembered when we were kids I said I'd marry you," I said, smiling.  
"I remember that. You showed me off for a week saying that. Then they called you Wedding boy... Not a very clever nickname," she said, laughing.  
"We have a lot of catching up to do, huh?" I asked.  
"Yeah, and I want to know what's kept you busy since I'd been gone," she said.  
"I took up basketball and an instrument," I said.  
"Oh, what do you play?"  
"A Sitar," I said. "Maybe you can come over and I'll show you sometime," I offered.  
"I'd like that," she said and smiled. I noticed the cafeteria was emptying.  
"Look at the time," she commented.  
"Miss Naminé, can I walk you to class?" I asked in an overly polite voice, holding out my arm.  
"Of course," she said, laughing. Joined at the shoulder, just like it used to be. She was so much shorter than me- only to the bottom of my ribcage. So technically, it wasn't at the shoulder. It was more like arm to arm. And as I walked down the hall with Naminé, for the first time in seven years, I felt whole again. We reached class and walked in- it was movie day in science, and you could imagine the restless students' shock when I came in with Naminé on my arm. I sat down at my table- Naminé joined me, seeing as my usual friends weren't here. Zexion looked over his desk and tapped my shoulder. I leaned back to listen closer and talk without being easily overheard.  
"What are you doing with her?" Zexion asked. He always had a question, and though he didn't usually voice them, this one burned with curiosity.  
"Believe it or not, I found her again. I grew up with her, so I guess you could imagine how surprised I was when I realized it was my best friend. I was so upset when she left, and it feels great to be around her again," I said. He just hmmed and went back to watching the film. And that's how the rest of September went. I woke up on the third morning of the month. It had started over the weekend, so this was the first of the school week. It was also the start of October, and this is the time Traverse Town gets chilly. I went out in my thin red sports jacket- it wasn't cold enough for anything thicker. If anything, it was still warm here, so I ended up carrying it. I got to school and Naminé was acting awfully quiet. Ever since she had come back into my life, I had been spending most if my time with her. It had me worried.  
"Hey, Naminé- what's wrong?" I asked.  
"My mom got married Saturday," she said.  
"Well... What's so bad about that?" I asked.  
"She got in a wreck yesterday... She's in the hospital right now. She's... She's not doing all that great. Got beat up pretty bad," she said gloomily.  
"Oh... I hope she gets better, Naminé. I really do," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me and smiled halfheartedly, like she wanted to but just didn't have it in her. The next day, she wasn't at school. And the day after that. And the rest of the week. She finally returned Wednesday. She was late, handed a note to the teacher, and took the empty seat behind me. She was wearing a white cardigan, even though it was unusually warm this time of year. She looked like she hadn't slept for a few days, and her eyes looked a little swollen like she had been crying... A lot. I turned around in my chair.  
"Naminé? You okay?" I asked. She looked down even more and shook her head. I left her alone for the time, knowing if I kept asking she would get upset again. The bell rang five minutes later.  
"Naminé, come on," I said grabbing her wrist. It was time to take her to The Corner. The Corner was a place where you could talk and nobody would hear you- it was more like a really thin hallway that stemmed off from a main hallway that was hardly used. I noticed when I took her wrist she winced and cringed away. I released her.  
"I'll go just... Don't touch me," she said quietly, and sort of bluntly, too.  
"Okay," I said. I didn't understand why she was acting this way. She pinched my sleeve and nodded for me to go. She followed me to the corner.  
"Naminé, I need you to step a little ways into that small space- in there, nobody can hear what you're telling me," I said.  
"My mom died, Demyx. My dad is in jail. I have to stay with Xigbar- I've got nowhere else to go... Not until my dad gets out. He was caught drug dealing, so he's going to be in rehab a few weeks after they let him out... Can I go back to class now?"  
"Naminé... Why did you cringe when I grabbed your hand?"  
"You... It hurt," she said, stepping away a little bit. I noticed she was holding the sleeve of her cardigan.  
"And why are you wearing that? It's still warm enough to swim..."  
"I was cold," she answered, all too quickly. I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her sleeve up. There were bruises all along her arm. She was squirming for me to let go.  
"Naminé...!" I said, astonished.  
"Demyx, stop it- let GO!" she screamed. I released her and stepped back. She fell to her knees and started crying again. She covered her face with her hands and pulled her sleeve back over her arm.  
"Naminé... Did he do this to you?" I asked quietly. She would know exactly who I was talking about.  
"Get away from me, Demyx..." I came closer. She needed someone to help. I wanted her to stop crying- it hurt me to see her cry. Every tear was a knife that stabbed me.  
"Naminé... You can tell me," I said softly.  
"I said get away," she said more loudly. She scooted farther back.  
"Namin-"  
"Demyx! Get away from the girl and come with me!" one of the teachers said. It was Mr. Vexen, the science teacher. He came in and grabbed my arm.  
"Assault in our hallways... The principal will hear about this!" he ranted. Naminé watched as I was dragged away. I held my hand out for her.  
"Naminé- tell him what was going on! Tell him!" She didn't make any move to stop him. "Naminé," I whispered, realizing she wouldn't. Mr. Vexen pulled me to my feet. Then he proceeded to march with me down the hall. When I got to the principal's, he saw to me immediately. He called my mom. She took me home. I was grounded and found out I had a few month's suspension. They don't put up with two teens, especially one who's a screaming girl and the other is a very tall, sports-playing boy, in a tight space together. When I got back to school in January, Naminé had started wearing pants. They were white, but still- pants? That wasn't Naminé at all. I then found out they had exchanged my extra math class for a different class. I was now the only sophomore in a sex education class with a bunch of juniors. Mr. Marluaxia was a funny teacher, but I still felt alien because people had to have heard why I might be here. They had put me here probably because of the incident with Naminé, and the extra math class was the only math class I had with Naminé. So they were trying to sever us. But... It already felt like she was slipping away, just like that day all those years ago when she moved away, leaving me to stand there, stuck in slow, agonizing, nightmare-like fear. I wouldn't let it happen again. I caught up with her after school.  
"Naminé... I'm sorry... I just had this feeling you were hiding something and it had me worried because it's so abnormal for you," I said. She was listening, and I was surprised because I'd expected her to run away screaming.  
"It's okay, Demyx... I'm sorry, too- I should've told Mr. Vexen what was going on. You just wanted to know," she said.  
"I wanted to help. Xigbar did that, didn't he?"  
"... I don't want to talk about it," she said.  
"Naminé, I want to help you. I can't do that if you won't tell me anything." She looked around quickly, then grabbed my collar and pulled me aside.  
"He has a gun. Don't underestimate him. That's all I can say," she said quietly, then started away. Something about the way she was walking told me not to follow her. I walked back to my house and did my homework, ate dinner; once I was done, bathed, then went to bed with a bad conscious. Since that day, I avoided the subject of Xigbar because it seemed to make her want to get away from me. Then, things returned to normal... Mostly. She still wore cardigans and pants, but I've gotten past that mostly, too. I would walk her home every day, and we would small talk but there was a deeper level of unsaid questions between us concerning why Xigbar would hit her. It hurt me, and kept me up at night to know he was abusing her and neither of us knew how to stop him. One night, I was laying in bed, thinking of how things used to be back when we were younger. Back then I had said I'd marry her because she was my best friend and I wanted her to be my best friend forever. Back then, I had done whatever I could to ensure she had fun and smile. Back then, I really cared about her. And I still do. I wondered why my world just seemed to revolve around Naminé. Naminé, always in my thoughts. Naminé, the only person I ever truly bonded with. Naminé, the only girl who never occurred to me to have cooties versus the other girls. Patient, kind, loving Naminé- she didn't deserve to go through what was happening to her. She was a small girl, and Xigbar was- is- had to be a coward to hit someone like that. Tiny, sweet, quiet, caring, beautiful Naminé... Beautiful? She had always looked normal. She always looked nice to me... But she had never really occurred to me as beautiful or pretty before. Before, she was just Naminé. Now, she's... I began to question what I really felt about her. Did I fall in love with her? Yes. Do I love her now? Of course. Was it recent?  
... No. It's always been this way. I just didn't realize it as a kid. It's why I always wanted to be near her. Why I had gotten so upset when she left. Why it took me so long to become social again. Why I always think of her... Why I'm so concerned. It was three in the morning by the time I fell asleep. I got to school the next morning, and Naminé was sitting in her desk. I sat down in my desk, which was in front of her. We had the whole 'assault' thing cleared up, so now we could sit together again. I noticed she seemed withdrawn all the time now, and looked like she had a low self image. I couldn't stand it. He damaged a precious item. Now I had to try and fix it. She noticed me staring, and looked up. Her eyes sprouted visible confusion, like she didn't understand something.  
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked quietly. I could tell she had some makeup on her cheek- probably covering another bruise.  
"Like what?" I asked. The concealer made me a little upset, but I hid it.  
"I don't know... Like... Like I'm something to look at... Like I'm pretty... It's weird."  
"Why, am I not allowed to look at you?"  
"No... It's just... I'm not pretty... I'm covered with multi-colored spots. The way you're looking at me like I am... It's just not right. I'm not special. There's probably fifteen hundred people just like me."  
"No there isn't... Just you." She looked up at me again and met my eyes, hers widening in more confusion.  
"But I'm not... Xigbar told me I wasn't even worth..." She trailed off, but I knew she was going to say 'hitting' or something. He made my blood boil just to think about it.  
"He's lying. You're the most beautiful girl I know and I don't think you've done anything to deserve what he does to you. He's just jealous that you have more of a heart than he does and he's what, like, three times your age?" She smiled at me shyly.  
"Thanks, Demyx, but I don't need you to tell me something just to try and make me feel better. I'll be alright," she said as if I were kidding.  
"I wasn't kidding, Naminé- I mean it." She looked into my eyes to check if I was lying... And she must've seen I was telling the truth. Her face turned pink except the spot covered with makeup.  
"Really Demyx... It's not funny anymore- stop joking around," she said, her eyes looking more uncertain.  
"I'm not lying. I really mean it. You are pretty, Naminé... Why would you think I'd ever lie to you?" I asked, extending my hand to touch the bruised cheek. As soon as my fingers had touched her face they tingled with a foreign energy. I felt her skin start to burn as it turned red, and she brought her hand up towards mine as if to hold it there, then instead, tore my hand away from her face. I saw tears spill over just as she shot up out of her chair and started for the door. I got up to go after her. I followed her all the way to the girl's restroom. I didn't care that I wasn't allowed inside. I pushed open the door and latched it behind me, because I was lucky to have followed her into one with a latch.  
"Naminé?" I whispered to the only door that was closed. I saw Naminé's sandals draw in a little more under the door.  
"Why are you in here?" she asked, voice cracked.  
"Because I want to make sure you're okay," I said.  
"I'm not okay. I'm sore all over my arms and ribs from being hit. I'm sad because I realize and know I'm pathetic and ugly, and I'm hurt because I know you just lied to me to make me feel better and you went so far it hurt. You almost made me believe it," she said.  
"Naminé- sweet, dearest Naminé, I assure you I'm not lying- it makes my blood burn to know Xigbar does that. It pains me to see you cry. I can't sleep at night because I think of you so much my brain doesn't want to sleep. Trust me, Naminé. I've never lied to you. I'd never lie to you. I really mean it. And you remember how I wanted to learn how to look at you the way my dad did for my mom... I know how, now. I was trying to silently tell you that..." I couldn't make it come out. These were the words that could change my life and I couldn't say them. "I was trying to... I wanted to let you know that... I... I... I love you..." I said, getting more quiet as I forced out those three little words that had explosive meaning. The stall door cracked open. I saw one eye peek around the door.  
"You really mean it?" she asked.  
"Yes," I whispered. I held my hand out to her. She hesitated then came forward. She had her hands drawn up to the center of her chest. As soon as she was close enough for me to reach, I reached out and pulled her into my torso. She gasped as I held her there. The bell rang, meaning we were tardy but I didn't care. I had gotten through to Naminé. I let her go, unlatched the door, and before I opened it I looked at her.  
"See you in class," I said, then left. She needed some time to think. I walked her home that day, too. When we were in front of her house, we stopped to say goodbye like we usually do, but instead of goodbye, something else slipped.  
"Would you go out with me?" I asked. Naminé looked taken aback. She looked away. Then she looked back to me, her eyes boring into mine, captivating me in a sapphire sea.  
"Okay," she said. Then she turned towards the house to leave. I didn't want her to go yet- I wasn't finished. I grabbed her wrist, and she turned around to see what I wanted. I used my free hand to grab her chin and pull her face into mine. Her lips were so soft... And they were so shocked and hesitant... It was oddly enjoyable. Technically, this was our second kiss, but I knew I couldn't stay her friend. I had to be her man. I had to keep her safe, and I had to make her love me. I let her go and straightened myself. She looked at me, incredulous. Then she turned and went into her house. The next day, she wasn't at school. Or the day after that. Or the day after that. I had a feeling something was wrong, so I snuck out that night and walked to her house. I pebbled the only window with a white curtain on one side. Nobody answered. I climbed up the drainage pipe from the gutter and looked inside. Nobody was in the room, but the bedroom door was sightly open. The hall light was on. Then the next window flickered on, and I heard Naminé's voice.  
"What's going on? Why are you getting me up at eleven thirty, Xigbar?"  
"Shut up- I've had enough of just sitting there."  
"Ow! Do you have to hold my arm that tight? Ahh!"  
"Lay down!"  
"What are you doing?" I heard the distinct sound of someone being slapped. Then sobbing... It was Naminé.  
"Now will you behave?"  
"What are you going to do? Why am I in here?" I moved over on the wall, grabbing on to the flower box full of just dirt to see inside. I saw Naminé, sitting on the far corner of a bed from Xigbar. He was creepy looking- he was wearing a tank top that exposed scars all over his arms, black pants with a brown leather belt, and an eyepatch over one eye. His salt-and-pepper hair was tied in a ponytail. He was unfastening his belt and pulled it through his belt loops. He folded it in half, and smacked it into his hand.  
"Be quiet. I saw that boy in front of our house- I saw you kissing him. You little slut. He looked like some kind of punk- you know punks beat their girlfriends, right? If you wanted a beating you should've come to me."  
"Xigbar, Demyx isn't-"  
"I'm not 'Xigbar' to you anymore! I'm your daddy, now."  
"My dad's in jail," she said. He raised the belt and hit her with it. She was wearing a sundress-like nightdress. The belt struck her leg, and she cried out. I immediately saw the red streak left from the belt on her thigh.  
"Is that boy filling you with lies again? You know better than that. You're not worth his time- I know how his types are. They get all soft like on a girl just to get up her skirt and leave without a word."  
"Demyx isn't like that! He cares about me! If he were here he'd be beating the daylights out of you! You haven't let me go to school for three days! I just want to be normal again!" I wanted to jump in there and save her. Then I remembered- before we could be king and queen I had to save her, first. I was about to lunge forward, go in there and save her, but he pulled out a gun, too. I was above a fire escape level. I climbed off onto that and waited, trying to find a way to help if I could.  
"Shut up," he said, pointing the gun at her. "Now, do what I tell you." He unfastened his pants. 'He is going to rape her!' I thought. I looked around frantically.  
"What are you doing?" I heard a panicked Naminé.  
"Take off your clothes."  
"N-no."  
"Meh... I'll get around them."  
"Stop- g-get away!" Crowbar! I grabbed it and looked back to the scene on the other side of the window. Xigbar was crawling onto the bed, Naminé cringing back into the corner. Xigbar had two of his fingers in his mouth. 'What is he doing?' He pulled his fingers from his mouth and grabbed Naminé's face with his other hand. He pulled her into an unwilling kiss and Naminé started hitting him with her fists. Then he took the hand that had the saliva covered fingers and brought them between her legs. Then, one second Naminé was just hitting him. The next she was trying to go back with her entire body to get away from him, but his hand was still... I realized he had just put his fingers inside her!  
"Naminé!" I yelled and smashed the window, not caring if I did get shot. This wasn't right. Not by a long shot. And what's worse I knew I could've interefered sooner and saved her.  
"Demyx!" Naminé said, shocked, relieved and scared. I took a swing to Xigbar's head, but the crowbar was stopped inches from his face with a hand that had the two violating fingers. I got madder and just before I could bring a foot to his groin his knee was already in mine. I fell, shouting out a profanity. He grabbed the back of my shirt and threw me in a chair. I tried to fight again and got karate chopped at the base of the neck. I blacked out immediately and opened my eyes again, probably a few minutes later. I was belted to the chair with a gag. I was facing the bed where Naminé still was, Xigbar still holding the gun. He looked at her.  
"You were saying? I still have some living daylight left to see, I guess. Now, boy- if you really did care, you'd make sure this could be avoided. But you'll watch it unfold. Have fun, audience," he said, smiling evilly. Then, I was forced to watch as he proceeded to molest Naminé, he would hit her if she didn't do what she was told, and when he was done he just tied her right hand to the bedpost.  
"I'm going to pack. We're leaving first thing tonight. You were beautiful, Naminé. Just imagine how much I could make off you." As soon as the door was shut she looked away from me, sobbing. I felt streaks of my own unnoticed tears on my face. I wrestled with the gag, still and finally, Naminé looked at me. I looked at her, hoping she would understand. I tried to say mentally 'untie me. I'll help get you out.' She used her left hand to untie her right, then ungagged me and unbelted my hands, which were bleeding from me struggling against the belts and them cutting into my skin. I hugged her.  
"I'm so sorry, Naminé," I whispered. "Come on," I said. I started towards the broken window and realized she didn't have shoes. I picked her up and carried her over there. I stepped on the glass and realized it was cutting me. He had taken my shoes. I still walked over it, anyway, wincing and clenching my teeth to keep from crying out. I took my elbow to the glass, cutting it up as I broke off the rest of it so Naminé could get out. I heard Xigbar coming back down the hall and I stuffed Naminé out the window.  
"Go, Naminé. Don't worry about me. Get help!" I whispered urgently.  
"I can't go without you!" she insisted quietly.  
"Go, just go- I want you safe!" I said even more urgently. I heard him unlocking the door. I grabbed her face and kissed her, then drew the curtains. "Go!" I hissed as I shut off the last bit of space between us with the dark plaid fabric. The door opened.  
"You punk!" Xigbar roared and hit me. I hit the floor about five feet from where I was standing. I sat up, in pain, then started pulling glass out of my feet, hoping Naminé was far away- or at least far enough for Xigbar to leave her alone, or not even see her. The bits were all fairly large, so it was easy to remove them. Xigbar looked out the window, and I guess Naminé was out of sight because then, he looked at me with all the deathly fires of hell and closed in on me. He hit me and I blacked out. I woke up in a room that smelled gross and I was tied to a bed in my t-shirt and boxers. Xigbar came inside, then.  
"I honestly don't care- male, female... They all have somewhere to prod around in. I lost my girl, but I got a boy. Fair trade, I guess... But I will miss that pussy," he said. I growled at him angrily. I tried to free myself, but it didn't work. "I got a pretty good offer. He'll be here this afternoon. Have fun, kid." Then, he left. Later, a man with long white hair showed up. He just took my underwear and started sniffing and rubbing his face in it. Then, he kept it. He walked out after pocketing my boxers, much to my disgust. Now I was all exposed except my t-shirt. I was there for two days, and another person showed up. This time it was a woman with slicked back blonde hair, all except for two sprigs that sprung up like a grasshopper's antenne. She grabbed my junk and examined it, much to my displeasure at being groped at. Then she nodded toward the open doorway.  
"He is a... Quite well developed young man. He'll do just fine," she said. Then she walked away. She stopped at Xigbar, who was standing in the doorway. "I'll bid fifty grand," she said and vanished. Then a blonde guy with a goatee walked in and then, he looked back, and pushed his wristwatch.  
"We found him- move in!" he yelled. Then like, seven cops appeared and I was taken away. I came to learn that my savior was someone who had volunteered to look for me from the prison because he knew Xigbar. He was actually someone I knew. I barely recognized him, but it was Naminé's real dad. When I had gotten home finally, Naminé was sitting on my couch. It had been four days since I had seen her, and she looked the same as she did when I had put her out the window- she hadn't bathed, and she still had my blood smeared on the sides of her face and her back from when I had hugged her and kissed her that last time. She saw me and rushed forward to me. Luckily the police had given me some sweatpants so I was no longer half naked. She wrapped her arms around my waist, her hair so tangled it made her look feral though she was still as harmless as a cotton ball. I wrapped my arms around her, too and my mom rushed over to embrace me as well.  
"Thank you so much, Luxford," my mom said, voice breaking.  
"Don't worry, Aerith. I got offered to do this because he was my friend before he started screwing my wife, and then I was also behaving pretty good. The trust was in my favor. I'm out, now. I'm just sorry you got caught up in all this. I wish I could've stopped him from getting at my little girl, though," Luxford said, looking down at Naminé sadly.  
"I wish I had. I could've stopped him if I were stronger," I said. "I wish I could've killed the son of a bitch."  
"Demyx!" my mom chided. "I know you've just been through a lot but I don't want to hear that language from you!"  
"Naminé, we found him... Now will you clean yourself up?" Luxford asked. She released me, looked me over, then nodded to her dad. Then my mom led her upstairs and told me it would be my turn when she was finished. I looked at Luxford.  
"Why didn't she bathe? She had the ability to..." I questioned.  
"She wanted us to find you, first. She was in shock, and she kept telling us something like 'If I wash it off, I won't be close to him anymore'. I think it was you she was talking about," Luxford said. Then we heard my mom calling me upstairs. I went upstairs and found her outside the bathroom.  
"She wants you to talk to her. The bath is full, she just says she wants you close." I sat down outside the door and my mom left.  
"Demyx... I'm sorry you got into this," Naminé said from inside.  
"I got into it on my own. You shouldn't apologize," I said. I heard some water disturbance, like someone was getting into the bath.  
"I'm ruined... I mean, what was I thinking- I could've at least tried to look better for you when you came home."  
"You're not ruined. You were violated, and I honestly think you look good even with blood smeared on your face and your hair like a haystack."  
"You can't mean that."  
"I would never think you looked bad." I heard scrubbing.  
"I did wash off a little bit," she admitted. "When your mom tried to get me to bathe before, I just sat in the water and cleaned off... Well, you can only guess the part I would want to clean after that night." I could guess, but then again I probably knew.  
"Naminé?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Remember the Superman ring?"  
"Yeah."  
"It may not be the best right now, but... After high school... Would you marry me for real? I couldn't stand it to lose you again... I really have always wanted you by my side forever. I'll even get you a really nice one once I have the money."  
"I will. I don't care about the ring, Demyx. I just care about how you feel. And if you really mean it, I'll do it whenever you want." I heard another disturbance in the water for a few minutes. Then it was quiet.  
"Demyx?"  
"I'm still here, sweetheart," I assured. "Do you need something?" I asked when she didn't respond.  
"I love you, too, Demyx." I closed my eyes and smiled to myself. That's something I really wanted to hear.  
"I think I already knew that... It's nice to hear you actually say it, though." I heard another disturbance.  
"I don't think we'll be the same after this..." She sounded regretful.  
"I think we'll manage- I mean... Abuse is hard to get through, and I was almost sold to a crazy lady for fifty grand... That could've been you. And I'm glad it wasn't. If I had to take your place I would a thousand times before I'd let you get hurt again." The door opened and I looked up at Naminé, a towel wrapped around her, and all the blood on her face was gone. I stood up and looked down at her. She wrapped one arm around me, the other one holding up the towel.  
"Thank you," she whispered into my chest. I wrapped mine around her, too and whispered to her.  
"You might not want to hug me right now- you're all clean and I still need a bath," I said, laughing.  
"So? I don't care if you stink."  
"Well I don't want you to stink, too. I'll be out in a few minutes, okay?" she reluctantly let go and I went into the bathroom. I showered off and got out of the shower, towel wrapped around my waist. I dried off my hair, and after so many years of styling it the way I did, it just sort of sprung in that shape when dry, with a few strands here and there that weren't in place but I could always gel them back when my hair dried. I went to my room, and Naminé was sitting there on my bed. She was wearing a white skirt and a white tank top.  
"What are you doing in here?"  
"I... My dad is going to take me to a facility to get some trauma therapy... I got pretty messed up after my mom died and he... But you needed to know. And I couldn't leave without knowing I belonged to you once. And you never did take me on a date- you asked, but it never happened."  
"Maybe we could do that sometime... When we meet again."  
"We don't have to wait. We could act like your room is a theater or something. Watch a movie until I have to go... Like we did when we were kids," she said. I smiled.  
"Sure. Let's do that, then," I said. "Umm... Can you leave so I can put on some pants?" I asked, a little embarrassed.  
"I don't care if you change in front of me- you've seen more of me than I'd have liked you to, so I don't see how it would be fair. Not that I want to see you, of course, but I wouldn't think it matters anymore after I've been seen. And I thought guys had less modesty," she said.  
"You want to see, don't you?" I teased.  
"N-no!" she said, flushing. "I told you I don't care- it's just... Never mind."  
"You're curious, aren't you?" I asked.  
"No! I-I-I'll leave if you want me to."  
"No, stay. It would be completely unfair for you to not see," I said. I moved my hands to the towel.  
"I changed my mind don't to it!" she said, covering her eyes... But I saw her looking through her fingers.  
"I gotta change, Nam. Just don't look. Unless you change your mind again." I turned away from her and grabbed a pair of boxers and some sweats. I took a deep breath... And dropped the towel. I pulled on the boxers quickly, and peeked at Naminé discreetly. She WAS peeking. I put on the sweatpants and matching sweatshirt, and turned back to her smugly.  
"You can keep looking, Naminé. I'm dressed now, but I guess you'd know that," I said. She looked at me, face turning pink. "Bad Naminé," I chided playfully.  
"I-I didn't look!" she insisted.  
"Don't act like that I know you did. I saw you looking through your fingers," I said, walking towards her.  
"I tell you I didn't!" she insisted, still.  
"Admit it, Naminé, or I'm going to have to force it out of you."  
"But I didn't!" I started tickling her. The best part about being best friends since childhood is that I knew just about everything there is to know about Naminé... Especially her ticklish spots. She laughed uncontrollably and tried to talk.  
"Okay! Okay! I looked! I looked!" she squealed.  
"I knew it," I said, leaning in her ear and whispering. I realized I was on all fours above her on my bed when I raised my head. She smiled at me, showing pretty white teeth that matched her wardrobe. Then her face got a little more serious.  
"Demyx... I...w...t...y...u," she said. The last part was so quiet I couldn't hear her.  
"Wha-" I was suddenly cut off when she grabbed the neck of my shirt and pulled me down. She was kissing me forcefully, but with all the softness of a pillow. I kissed her back gently, savoring how we sort of melted together. Her hands started traveling up my shirt, up my stomach. I wish I could have done the same... And I pulled away.  
"Naminé, let's not," I said calmly, even though I was both angry at myself, proud of myself for stoping it, a little tense from how her hands had sent shocks over my stomach, and relieved because I had a kiss out of my system.  
"Why not? Anything valuable is already stolen... I have nothing left to protect."  
"I do. I still have my own and you. Wait until after we are... Married. I don't know... It's just something I promised my mom."  
"I get it. That does sound like a good idea," she allowed, both of us sitting up. I grabbed my remote and turned on a movie. It was whatever I had been watching last time, and it turned out to be The Corpse Bride. I had always sort of liked the dreariness of it, but now I can appreciate the love story in it. It was kind of like me and Naminé, in a way. I learned to love her, and then I had to say goodbye. Except I hadn't known another woman before Naminé. So right when the dead girl turned into blue moths, Naminé's dad came in, finding me almost asleep and Naminé fast asleep, leaning into my chest from her laying point between my legs. My hands were holding hers from behind, both of our hands in her partial lap due to the fact her legs were drawn up. I looked over to her dad sleepily and smiled. Then I sat up a little, and grabbed Naminé's shoulders. I leaned into her ear and quietly tried to wake her up. She rubbed her eyes but lay down instead.  
"You can just bring her to the car," her dad said and left.  
"Naminé," I said quietly. She just settled in, and smiled at my touch. Then, I had to do one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I slid my hands under her torso and legs and lifted her up. It wasn't hard because she was heavy- she was pretty light. It was hard because I was helping her travel away from me. I could've awakened her a little more forcibly, climbed out my window with her, gone down the fire exit and just ran. But I knew there was no avoiding this. I carried her downstairs, feeling the heavy goodbye just waiting on my chest. Luxford opened the backseat door for me, and I carefully placed Naminé inside.  
"Goodbye, Naminé." I could hear the finality in my words. Like I knew this would be the last time I see her for a long time. Maybe ever. Luxford circled the car and went to the driver's side. He opened the car door. I brushed the hair away from her face and kissed her forehead. Now it was my turn to say goodbye without a response.  
"I know we'll meet again," I whispered, and closed the car door. Again, it felt like nightmarish, heart-breaking slow motion as her dad waved and the car pulled away.

"I hope."

_(note: I have a sequel to this. I'm not sure if I should post it or not, so if you want more, let me know. thanks for reading :3 I appreciate it)_


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